Steòrnabhagh a Tuath (Scottish Gaelic for 'Stornoway North') is one of the 11 wards of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Scottish Gaelic for 'Council of the Western Isles'). Created in 2007, the ward elects four councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 3,748 people.
| Steòrnabhagh a Tuath | |
|---|---|
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | |
 Boundary of Steòrnabhagh a Tuath in Na h-Eileanan Siar from 2007–2022. | |
| Population | 3,748 (2021)[1] |
| Electorate | 3,097 (2022) |
| Major settlements | Stornoway (part of) |
| Scottish Parliament constituency | Na h-Eileanan an Iar |
| Scottish Parliament region | Highlands and Islands |
| UK Parliament constituency | Na h-Eileanan an Iar |
| Current ward | |
| Created | 2007 |
| Number of councillors | 4 |
| Councillor | Gordon Murray (SNP) |
| Councillor | Duncan MacInnes (Independent) |
| Councillor | Iain M. MacAulay (Independent) |
| Councillor | Malcolm K. MacDonald (Independent) |
| Created from | Blackwater Braighe Castle Coulregrein Goathill Laxdale Manor Park Plasterfield |
Independents have dominated elections in the Western Isles and the majority of councillors elected in the area have had no party affiliation. However, since 2012, the Scottish National Party (SNP) have held one of the seats.
Boundaries
editThe ward was created following the Fourth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2007 Scottish local elections. As a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, local elections in Scotland would use the single transferable vote electoral system from 2007 onwards so Steòrnabhagh a Tuath was formed from an amalgamation of several previous first-past-the-post wards. It contained all of the former Coulregrein and Manor Park wards, the majority of the former Castle ward as well as part of the former Blackwater, Braighe, Goathill, Laxdale and Plasterfield wards. The ward centres around the northern and eastern parts of Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis and includes the village of Laxdale.[2] Proposals in the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections would have reduced the ward's size in area and population resulting in the ward becoming a three-member ward.[3] However, these were not adopted by Scottish ministers as plans for the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 would bring forward an interim review following the 2017 elections.[4]
The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 allowed for the creation of single- and dual-member wards to allow for better representation of island areas. The ward was largely unaffected by the review but the ward's southern boundary was extended south to include the Arnish peninsula. It remained a four-member ward.[5]
Councillors
edit| Election | Councillors | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Murdo MacLeod (Independent) |
Iain MacKenzie (Independent) |
Roddie MacKay (Independent) |
Neil Campbell (Independent) | ||||
| 2012 | Gordon Murray (SNP) |
Iain MacLean MacAulay (Independent) | ||||||
| 2017 | Neil MacKay (Independent) | |||||||
| 2022 | Duncan MacInnes (Independent) |
Malcolm Kenneth MacDonald (Independent) | ||||||
Election results
edit2022 election
edit| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||||
| SNP | Gordon Murray (incumbent) | 23.3 | 315 | |||||||||
| Independent | Duncan MacInnes | 20.0 | 271 | |||||||||
| Independent | Iain M. MacAulay (incumbent) | 17.9 | 242 | 252 | 256 | 259 | 272 | |||||
| Independent | Malcolm K. MacDonald | 14.8 | 201 | 210 | 213 | 215 | 226 | 227 | 243 | 265 | 328 | |
| Independent | Calum B. MacKay | 9.9 | 134 | 137 | 139 | 141 | 147 | 148 | 162 | 179 | ||
| Independent | Tracy Dinner | 4.2 | 57 | 61 | 61 | 71 | 74 | 74 | 80 | |||
| Independent | Malcolm I. McTaggart | 4.1 | 55 | 57 | 60 | 63 | 65 | 65 | ||||
| Independent | Willie MacRae | 3.3 | 44 | 46 | 46 | 49 | ||||||
| Independent | Maxi MacNeill | 1.7 | 23 | 25 | 25 | |||||||
| Independent | John M. MacMillan | 0.9 | 12 | 13 | ||||||||
| Electorate: 3,097 Valid: 1,354 Spoilt: 25 Quota: 271 Turnout: 44.5% | ||||||||||||
Source:[6]
2017 election
edit| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||||
| SNP | Gordon Murray (incumbent) | 34.4 | 486 | |||||
| Independent | Roddie MacKay (incumbent) | 28.2 | 398 | |||||
| Independent | Iain MacAulay (incumbent) | 17.6 | 249 | 321 | ||||
| Independent | Neil MacKay | 10.3 | 145 | 190 | 251 | 269 | 357 | |
| Independent | Lesley McKenzie | 9.5 | 134 | 163 | 176 | 183 | ||
| Electorate: 2,993 Valid: 1,412 Spoilt: 28 Quota: 283 Turnout: 48.1% | ||||||||
Source: [7]
2012 Election
edit2012 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar election
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||||
| Independent | Iain MacKenzie (incumbent) | 20.68% | 299 | |||||||||
| Independent | Roddie MacKay (incumbent) | 18.12% | 262 | 264.1 | 272.1 | 294.1 | ||||||
| SNP | Mohammed Ahmed | 12.17% | 176 | 176.4 | 179.5 | 182.5 | 182.8 | 194.9 | 207.1 | 218.2 | ||
| SNP | Gordon Murray | 12.03% | 174 | 174.7 | 180.7 | 192.7 | 193.2 | 208.4 | 228.7 | 251.1 | 358.4 | |
| Independent | Murdo Murray | 8.30% | 120 | 121.8 | 123.8 | 128.4 | 129.4 | 142.6 | 160.9 | |||
| Independent | Iain MacLean MacAulay | 7.12% | 103 | 103.5 | 109.6 | 117.7 | 118.4 | 145.7 | 177.3 | 221.9 | 249.0 | |
| Independent | David Morrison | 6.36% | 92 | 93.1 | 97.1 | 104.1 | 104.8 | |||||
| Independent | Neil Campbell (incumbent) | 6.29% | 91 | 91.5 | 92.5 | |||||||
| Independent | Jackie MacKay (incumbent) | 6.15% | 89 | 89.8 | 95.8 | 108.1 | 108.8 | 123.2 | ||||
| Labour | Kevin Paterson | 2.77% | 40 | 40.2 | ||||||||
| Electorate: 2,986 Valid: 1,446 Spoilt: 25 Quota: 290 Turnout: 1,471 (48.42)% | ||||||||||||
2007 Election
edit2007 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar election
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | % | Seat | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Murdo MacLeod | 920 | 50.3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent | Roddie MacKay | 305 | 16.7 | 2 | 2 | |
| Independent | Iain MacKenzie | 212 | 11.6 | 3 | 3 | |
| Independent | Neil Campbell | 168 | 9.2 | 4 | 7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John Chisholm Cole | 108 | 5.9 | |||
| Independent | Angus MacMillan | 95 | 5.2 | |||
| Independent | Colin Scott | 20 | 1.1 | |||
References
edit- ^ "Steòrnabhagh a Tuath". Scottish Government. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
- ^ "Fourth Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements; Na h-Eileanan an lar Council Area" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. May 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "Fifth Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements; East Ayrshire Council Area" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. May 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
- ^ "Council ward boundaries agreed". Scottish Government. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ "Review of Electoral Arrangements; Na h-Eileanan an Iar Council Area" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. June 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ Faulds, Allan. "Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 2022". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
- ^ Teale, Andrew. "Local Elections Results 2017 Eilean Siar". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 1 November 2024.